Hi people! This week we have another archival episode for you. This segment is from the first season of the original show. My guest Shonda Lear shows us how to make a statement with floral arranging. Her arrangement is quite remarkable and pleases Mary Ellen no end, for unexpected reasons – or perhaps those reasons should have been obvious to me – watch and see. Shonda is the brainchild of David Mandel, whose company The Show Must Go On creates fanciful jewelry and objet d’art.

I’m so happy to kick off the film discussion feature of this blog, inspired by Netflix. Our first film is one of my favorites – What’s Up Doc. If you haven’t seen it, you’re in for a treat. Inspired by the screw ball comedies of the 30’s, Peter Bogdanovich’s 1972 film features Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neil and has the distinction of being Madeline Kahn’s first film. I highly recommend it. Add it to your Netflix queue and screen it, then post your comments here. If you haven’t joined Netflix yet, you’re missing out on a delightful diversion and a great value. Click here to join and support the podcast at the same time! Our next film will be announced with our next episode in around two weeks.

That’s all this time!

Hello people! Love is in the air - It's almost St. Valentines Day and I have some ideas for you. This week on the show I'm demonstrating a charming craft project - Topiary Heads! They make delightful gifts for your valentine and are such fun to put together. Here's how: 

You'll need: 

A paper mache flour pot

Plaster of Paris

An 8" diameter Styrofoam ball

Raffia in black or brown

An 18" wooden dowel

Pink tint floral spray

Craft paint in brown, red or pink and blue or violet

Ribbon in pink and red

Red and white heart shaped paper doilies

Red metallic poster board

Pink poster board

Artificial flowers

Pink or white netting or tulle

Floral wire

Tiny red pompons

A glue gun and glue sticks

Scotch tape

Wire cutters

A paint brush

Scissors

White glue 

Start by setting the dowel in the bottom of the flour pot so it stands upright with the plaster of Paris. Then you can create the head. Give the ball a light dusting of the floral spray, concentrating it a little more where you want the cheeks to be. Paint a face on the Styrofoam ball using the craft paint, then use the raffia to create an attractive hairstyle, pinning it to the ball using the floral wire. Use the ribbon to tie the hair into pony or pig tails, or as an attractive headband. Mount the head on the dowel. Next, create a bow for the neck by gathering up a length of tulle and holding it together with a length of floral wire. Leave the tails of the wire sticking up. Attach an artificial rose to the bow with wire or hot glue. Then insert the tails of wire up into the base of the ball to mount your bow at her neck.  Now it's time to create the hat. Cut a large heart out of the metallic paper board. The heart should be larger than either of the doilies. Next create a truncated cone of pink paper board. Cut half inch deep tabs into the top edge of the cone and fold them down to create a surface to glue your heart to. Mount the heart on the cone and, once dry, you can glue your doilies, one on top of the other, down to the red heart. Mount a pouf of tulle with an artificial flower on top of the doilies using floral wire through all layers and leave the tails. Use the tails to mount the hat on the head by inserting them into the Styrofoam.

Trim the dowel by winding ribbon around it spirally from top to bottom. Tape it to the dowel to secure it in place. Your finishing touch is to fill the flower pot with tulle and stud the tulle with the pompons using your hot glue gun. Congratulations! Your Valentines Day gift is complete! 

This week on my NPR podcast I'm discussing the perfect Valentines Day meal - A picnic on your living room floor! It's such a delightful way to celebrate with your valentine. Be sure and listen. 

If you haven't signed up for my mailing list yet consider joining now. Each week, in addition to getting information about my shows, I feature editorial content that you can't get anywhere else. This week I'm featuring my recipe for brownie cookies. They're delightful cut into heart shapes and frosted with pink icing! 

That's all for this week. Be sure and join me next time!

Hi people! Sorry for the long silence. I've been so busy helping Ben launch The Obscurity Factor that I haven't had a lot of time to post. I've also been doing a lot of Craigslist shopping lately. It's been a very fruitful period of acquisitions from the site. I've been shopping for my apartment and my mother's place. The results have been quite impressive.



The time has come to set up my dining room. I've become convinced that the big, beautiful Windsor chairs I wanted to use are just too large for my apartment, so I've banished them in favor of these little ballroom chairs. They're ubiquitous at weddings and the like, but are rarely used in the home. I plan to give them a makeover to resemble the hutch they're posed in front of - ivory base coat and green detailing with aged affectations. I got quite a bargain on these. They came from two different sellers, but were only $10 a piece.



Now most of you know how much I love to entertain, so a good bar cabinet is a must. I spent some time looking for one and came across this from the 1970's. It has a caned front and plenty of room for libations and their accouterments.

It also has a flip up top with a bin for your bottles and a laminate work surface with an inset ice bucket. Very chic! This one was $100.



My mother recently moved into a new apartment and is gradually replacing old pieces with new. The apartment is much more modern than their last place so I've been helping her find pieces that harmonize. I came across this dresser was lucky enough to snag it for her. She's so pleased with it and it makes quite the statement in the bedroom! The body of it is walnut, but the facade is actually molded plastic. It's really beautifully done and very solid. You can't tell even examining it closely or touching it. This was also a bargain at $500.

Finding deals on Craigslist is time consuming, but it can be done.

- Keep your search terms broad but narrow down the search platform - for example, say you're looking for a vintage refrigerator, search for the term "vintage" only in appliances. That will weed out all the non-vintage refrigerators, but will not weed out the listing with "fridge" or refrigerator misspelled in them. If you're searching for vintage also use the term "retro".

- You have to make it a mission. I search for the items I need every night and email or call the ones I like right away.

- Persistence is the key. Sometimes the sellers aren't that motivated, so you may need to email them several times.

- It really helps to have a car. If you can look at the item and take it away the same day you can usually strike a deal. I enlist the help of friends and family. You can also join one of those rental companies like Zipcar.

- Don't be shy about bargaining, but do it in person. If you have the ready cash the seller is usually willing to give a little - a bird in the hand...

Your results will depend on the market you live in, of course, but I've done some regional searches and found that there are interesting pieces to be had in small markets as well as large. The key is to keep looking.

Here are some of the great Craigslist items that are up right now in the New York area:



This looks like an Adrian Pearsall couch. (Thanks to Pam at RetroRenovation.com for the heads up on Pearsall)



This all-in-one kitchenette is really unique. It's the perfect solution for loft living or for an office that doesn't have a kitchen.



These great Geneva metal cabinets are also up for grabs here in NY. The price is good too.

 

When you're on a budget, or just looking for something unusual, Craigslist can offer great opportunities. I've also been so delighted with the pleasant human interactions the transactions sometimes provide.

What have you found on Craigslist?

Dingy glassware, dull aluminum, scummy bathtubs... These things are homemaking nightmares that can depress even the most cheerful Suzy Sunshine. Banish their gloomy clouds of dirt and limescale with a simple solution made from common household ingredients!



I had a few things to clean up, so I put them all in plastic bin and filled it with a solution of hot tap water, half a bottle of white vinegar and a couple of tablespoons of cream of tarter. I let the bin sit until the water had cooled to room temperature, then pulled the items out and washed them with dish soap and a nylon scrubbie and all the offending detritus just rinsed away.



It's the perfect solution for aluminum, which can't be cleaned with ammonia because it pits. While it won't remove burnishing, it will eat through all that accumulated, dulling residue.



Crystal vases, when used regularly, can develop limescale and hard to remove bits of plant matter that cloud their clarity. This treatment will soak through all that unpleasantness and leave a crystal clear shine.

 

This method also works on bathtubs and other plumbing fixtures. Just fill the tub with hot water, pour in a bottle of white vinegar and some cream of tarter and let sit over night. The next morning all that hard to remove scunge will just wipe away! My friend Mike from California, who's more of a clean freak than I am suggested this to me. It's especially effective on fiberglas tubs which can't be scrubbed with abrasives. Give it a try!

Vintage craft magazines can be such great sources of inspiration! McCall's Needlework and Crafts magazine from 1967 is the source for this charming little project.



It's a trinket box, but what I like about it is the technique can be adapted to so many materials end uses. The suggest you use felt for the flowers and leaves, but you could also use different types and colors of paper, fabric, leather or even rolled fondant! Here's the template for the flowers:

Just right click, or command click on the image above and choose save to download them for your own use. You can resize them as needed in photo editing software.

I did a needlework project based in part on this idea. Instead of glue I used french knots to embroider the felt flowers to the surface. Here's the end result:

'Tis the season to get snockered! When it's cold, and I'm in the market for a good snockering I like it to come with butter.



Here's a wonderful recipe for a hot buttered rum toddy from the Esquire Party Book from 1965. It's one of my go-to books for celebratory fare.

"For each drink you'll need:

 

3/4 Tbs. brown sugar
1 1/2 ounce rum
2 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon butter
4 oz boiling water
Ground cinnamon
Sugar cube

Into a six ounce mug put the sugar, rum and cloves. Spoon the butter into the mug and pour over it the 4 oz of boiling water. Stir the batter thoroughly with the cinnamon stick and dust with ground cinnamon. For a special touch, try a sugar cube dipped in 151 proof rum, lighted and dropped in at the height of burning with the incantation of Yo-ho-ho!"

Now if you'd like a stronger drink you can vary the ratio of water to rum slightly, but don't eliminate the water all together! 6 oz of rum can leave you wondering where you left your pants.

All my best wishes for a happy holiday!